


The Long Way

by Evil_Little_Dog



Category: Leverage
Genre: Curtain Fic, Multi, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 12:39:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17304800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evil_Little_Dog/pseuds/Evil_Little_Dog
Summary: Dark country roads are not Alec's favorite thing.





	The Long Way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dreamerfound](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamerfound/gifts), [aqwt101](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aqwt101/gifts), [Tassos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tassos/gifts), [punch_kicker15](https://archiveofourown.org/users/punch_kicker15/gifts).



Alec drove Lucille along the two-lane country road. A part of him thought, ‘Black man on narrow country road, that’ll lead to no good’ while another part of him chided the first, saying, ‘Man, you watch too many horror movies.’ His large black van stood out on this road – or would, if there was any other traffic. What few vehicles he’d exchanged headlight flashes with had been duallies or other pickups, plus once, a large mail truck. 

He wondered why they were out here. Parker had been mysterious about her request for all of them to load up and drive. “We’re in between jobs,” she’d said. “We need to think about what we want to do next and I want a drive.” A drive out to the middle of nowhere, far outside of the city. Houses were spread out few and far between and crossroads rolled up suddenly, with crooked or even missing road signs. That some of those roads were gravel made Alec wonder who would want to live this far from civilization. Even his very reliable GPS was having issues here and if he got lost, well – forget it. He’d be doomed. 

A shifting in the passenger seat reminded Alec he wouldn’t be immediately lynched if caught out here in what had to be Redneck World. Eliot muttered under his breath and folded his arms, looking for all the world like a pouty kid – not that Alec would tell him that. Still, he had to hide his grin when Eliot turned his way to demand, “I want to know why we’re here.” 

Alec groaned. “Aw, man, getting with the philosophical this early in the morning?” 

Eliot gave him a dirty look. “No,” he said, “why are we _here._ ” He flapped his hand at the windshield. “On a road trip. At earlier than oh-dark-thirty in the morning.” 

Eliot was right. It was dark out. There was barely a moon – just a little sliver of one playing hide and seek with the clouds. And it wasn’t like they’d taken a case. No, this was just the three of them – Parker snored softly in the back – and a country road. Alec rolled his shoulders into a shrug. “Baby wanted a road trip.” 

“Then ‘Baby’ shoulda been the guide.” Eliot threw his phone on Lucille’s dash and flopped back into the bucket seat. “Do you have any idea where we’re going?” 

“Parker gave me coordinates.” 

Eliot pounced. “Coordinates?” 

“An address,” Alec amended. “Not coordinates.” 

Running his hands over his hair, Eliot squeezed his skull between his hands. “Gah.” 

“Baby girl doesn’t give orders unless it’s necessary.” The reminder itself wasn’t really needed but Eliot quieted down – for at least a few seconds. 

“But why B.F.E.? Did we get a case?” 

In the second row of seats, Parker yawned. “No, it’s not a case.” She grumbled the words out. Sometimes, she woke bright and cheerful. The was one of the other times. At least she didn’t sound scary. 

“Good morning,” Alec said, giving her a smile in the rearview mirror. 

“Morning,” she said, blowing him a kiss. Reaching up, she tousled Eliot’s hair. 

“Hey!” He immediately tried to set it to rights, like a little kid. Or a teenager. Alec tried to restrain his imagination about what Eliot was like as a teenager but pimples popped upon Teen!Eliot’s face and Alec had to bite back a snicker. “What?” 

“Nothing, man.” 

Eliot shot him a suspicious look but decided it was wasted on the driver, spinning his seat around to Parker. “Where are we going?” 

She gave him a straight-faced stare back. “I think south-east.” 

“Parker.” Eliot growled. 

“I remembered to pack you coffee, didn’t you drink it?” she asked. 

“I don’t care about coffee!” Eliot’s snarl would do a bear proud. 

Parker pouted. “But it’s really good coffee!” 

Eliot rolled his eyes and twirled his chair back around to face the dash. “This better be worth it.” 

The pout turned into a brilliant grin in the rearview mirror. 

Another twenty miles of Eliot grumbling under his breath and Parker bouncing slightly in the back and a sign suddenly popped up that advised Alec to _turn here._ Onto what he feared – a gravel road. At least this one seemed to be in good repair – Lucille didn’t buck or bounce once as they drove in winding turns up a hill. 

A really big hill. 

Eliot groused. “I’m getting a nosebleed here.” 

“Baby, this isn’t taking us to the Overlook, huh?” Alec met Parker’s mirthful eyes in the mirror. 

“Oh please, like we couldn’t fight off a bunch of ghosts.” Her grin grew. 

Please not a horror house, please not a horror house, Alec chanted in his head as he guided Lucille up a steeper section of road, around a blind curve and - 

The sun came out, nearly blinding them. When had it started to rise? How had he not noticed the colors in the sky other than almost black? Alec squinted and kept driving a little more slowly. 

As they came around the curve, lush green grass dotted with wildflowers came into view. A two-story log cabin lay toward the end of the gravel road. Off to the right, a large barn sat, surrounded by a three-rail fence. Alec spotted some horses munching on hay. A dog popped up from the cabin’s deck. “Dog,” Eliot said. 

“Horses,” Alec said. 

“And goats! I’ve always wanted a goat!” Parker bounced in her back seat. 

“What is this, Parker?” Eliot asked, half-turning his chair around. 

“It’s ours!” She beamed. 

“Ours?” Eliot swiveled his head toward the house. 

“Ours how?” Alec asked. 

“Ours because I bought it!” She slapped their shoulders simultaneously. 

“You bought a house?” Eliot sounded dumbfounded. About the way Alec felt. 

“For us. With animals! And a well! And a lot of acres so we can you know. Practice stuff!” 

“What kind of stuff?” 

Parker jangled a set of keys. “I’ll show you!” 

“You bought a farm and you didn’t tell us?” Eliot opened his door and swung out of Lucille. 

“Yup!” Parker swarmed out of the back before Alec turned off the engine. “Come on, come on, there’s so much to show you!” She fairly danced across the lawn. “We have three horses and some goats and that dog!” The dog trotted slowly over, its white body absolutely huge to Alec’s eyes. It wagged its tail and nuzzled Parker’s hand. “His name is Oscar. He protects the goats!” 

“But.” 

“And the barn has all sorts of stuff in it – a place where the saddle stuff stays and the food is kept and the horses and the goats can stay at night. And a tractor!” Parker spun around. “And the attic is full of hay and I think we should install a secret room there so we can keep things hidden in case someone comes looking for us.” 

“A panic room?” Alec asked. 

“That too!” Parker pointed at the cabin. “There’s this huge basement that runs the whole length of the house and we could make a tunnel that runs to the barn in case we need it. And there’s a garage in the back where you can’t see it too easily and I hope you like it because I do.” She stopped in front of them both, her hands clasped together. 

“I never thought about living in the country.” Alec studied the cabin. How would he get internet out here? 

“Nice barn,” Eliot said. “But...” 

“And I thought we could grow a grape arbor and make wine and raise bees and still do our thing, you know?” Parker switched her attention between the two of them. “Help people. But maybe help out some kids who really need help.” 

“Kids.” They said it at the same time. 

“Yeah. Like kids who are stuck in the system and need help to get out of it.” 

“Like you did,” Eliot said. 

She nodded. “But not have someone like Archie teach them. I mean, they could learn stuff like how to take care of animals and martial arts and internet stuff but not hacking and how to survive?” 

Alec felt a smile coming over his face. “Would this be like a camp or...?” 

“Maybe?” Parker shrugged but with a hopeful expression. “Maybe something else?” 

“...You’re not pregnant, are you?” Eliot asked. 

“No!” She shook her head. “No. I just want, you know. There are kids we could help.” 

Alec and Eliot looked at each other. Turned their gazes toward the buildings, the land so evident behind the cabin and the barn. “It’s different from what I thought we’d be doing,” Alec said. 

“I ain’t saying no to helping kids.” Eliot nodded. 

Beaming, Parker opened her hands, offering them each a set of keys. “Welcome home.”


End file.
